袁 meaning and stroke order
Robe; surname
How to write 袁, stroke by stroke
10 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
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Meaning of 袁
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- long robe (old)
How 袁 is built
Ideographic (compound meaning) character. A person 口 wearing a robe 衣.
Radical: 衣 (cloth), shared by 33 characters on this site.
How to remember 袁
Picture a person's head 口 peeking out from the middle of a long robe 衣 that has been split open around it. That long robe is the old meaning of 袁 (yuán).
Today 袁 is almost only used as a surname, and the old meaning "long robe" appears mainly in classical texts. You will see it in famous names such as 袁世凯 (Yuán Shìkǎi). Example: 我的老师姓袁。(Wǒ de lǎoshī xìng Yuán.) My teacher's surname is Yuan.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 袁 with 哀 (āi, sorrow), which also wraps 口 inside 衣. The difference is that 袁 has an extra 土 shape on top (the 衣 top plus a horizontal stroke). Also do not mix it up with 元 (yuán) or 园 (yuán), which sound the same but are different surnames and words.
Characters that contain 袁
Learning 袁 makes these easier to recognize and write.
Questions about 袁
How many strokes are in 袁?
袁 is written with 10 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 袁 mean?
袁 (yuán) means robe; surname.
How do you pronounce 袁?
袁 is pronounced yuán, in the second tone (rising).
What is the radical of 袁?
The radical of 袁 is 衣, which carries the idea of "cloth". Dictionaries list 袁 under this radical.
Is 袁 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 袁 is part of the HSK 7-9 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
How do I tell someone my surname is 袁 when it sounds like other yuán characters?
People often say 土口衣袁 (tǔ kǒu yī Yuán) to describe it by its parts. This separates it from 元 and 原, which are also read yuán.
Does 袁 appear inside other common characters?
Yes. It is the sound part in 远 (yuǎn, far), 园 (yuán, garden), 猿 (yuán, ape) and 辕 (yuán, shaft of a cart). Knowing 袁 helps you guess the yuan sound in these characters.